Study: Men in Relationships Have “Love Hormone”

I've heard of 'Love Potion #9', remember when Huey Lewis sang about wanting a 'New Drug', and have rocked out to Roxy Music's 'Love is The Drug', but I've never heard of the 'love hormone'. But new research says it's real. So what is it?

It's a chemical response that men in relationships experience that prompts them to keep their distance from other attractive women. Researchers call this hormone, "the love hormone," but it's also known as Oxytocin.

Oxytocin is known to contribute to pair-bonding, and in an experiment, single men and men in relationships were all given either oxytocin or a placebo having no effect. Here's what happened:

The men were introduced to a pretty woman, who moved towards them to have a conversation.

The men then had to tell the woman where he was comfortable with her standing to converse.

Men in relationships who took oxytocin stopped the woman when she was 28-to-30-inches away, while oxytocin-dosed single men allowed 20-to-24 inches between them and the woman.

Four inches difference? That's it? Forgive me for being a bit skeptical here.